New Ulm weekly review. [volume] (New Ulm, Minn.) 1878-1892, 1887-06-29
Mr.. AND MRS. BoWsEfs.
BY MRS. ROWsER.

BY MRS. BowsER.
"Well, I'm going to have garden this
spring" announced Mr.. Bowser as he
entered the house the other day.
'.You-you can't mean it!''
Mrs. Bowser, when say I'm going
to have a garden I don't want to be I'M
derstood as meaning that I'm going to
have brick-yard.''
But you remember last year?''
Certainly. I remember last year.
What Of it? I set out to make a gar
den, and you and the dog and the
neighbours hens and hailstorm and
the bugs beat me out of it. -
well, of course you will do as you
think best, but I'm sorry to see the
yard all torn UP for nothing"
For nothing! That's just like you'll
No matter what enterprise [ have on
hand you always try to discourage me.
You are nice help-meet, you are! /
might as well fold my hands and sit
down and wait for the poor house.
I shall begin on the garden tomorrow -
A year ago he came rushing into the
house one spring day with some seeds
which some one had given him, and an
nounced that he was going to have a
garden. Most of our back yard is in
the shade, and DO one of sense would
expect anything to grow there, but Mr..
Bowser had it spaded up and made into
beds, and his enthusiasm was wonder
full.
Don't want a garden, seh!' he
chuckled as he brought me to the back
door to survey the beds. '.Doesn' tthis
remind you of old times on the farm?"
Yes, but I'm afraid the soil will be
too cold.'
"Oh, you are! Perhaps you have
been reading up on soils, and are pre-
pairing series Of articles for some. agri-
cultural paper! You can 60 in and at
tend to your rick-rack."
''But you can warm the soil by run
ming steam pipes under it, and I don't
think the cost would be over 800.
II hadn't shut the dooraI think Mr..
Bowser would have hurled the spade at
me in his sudden anger, but after a
few minutes reflection he began measur-
ing back and forth and sticking stakes
and he afterwards acknowledged to
me in q burst Of confidence that he in
tended to try hot bricks at five feet
apart. He made a list Of the stuff he
put in the ground. There were pump
kin, squash, cucumber, watermelon,
cantelope, and turnip seeds, and he put
in some seed onions, made a bed of let
tuce, and his work was done for a time.
He had broken three pairs of suspend
ers beyond repair, spoiled two pairs OF
!. pantaloons, ripped three shirts down
the back and lost 500 gold piece in
the dirt, but he was happy and enthu-
siastic.
''Just think, Mrs. sBowser,' he ex-
claimed as he waved his hand over his
garden, ''of walking out and culling
your own vegetables, grown on your
own land, and covered with the dews
fresh from Heayen!"
''And covered with our own.worms
and bugs. suppose?'
There you are! You'd die if you
couldn't say something mead! [ used
to wonder why some families didn't get
along any better, but now see, through
the mystery
''Has anything sprouted yet?"
"None Of yoGr business! Don't yor
dare to even lock over my garden! If
raise So 900 big, luscious melons, you
shan't even have: a. piece of rind!'
The next week he brought home two
While he was down. town I went out tt
look at them, and when he returned
asked him il he was certain they were
tomato plants.
Am I certain sthattI am alive thi!
momentn' he roared. Perhaps I have
travelled this country from Maine tt
Texas to be taken in bv a farmer!''
Well, I hope they'll turn out to b.
- tomato plants, lu1t they look to M
I like"
'Bosh! Most anything looks quee
Ito a cross-eyed w0nan!'
am satisfied that Mr.. Bowser use'
seeds enough ON that garden to plan
five deep. Whatever he could hear O
he got, and whatever he brought home
went into the ground before he coul,
rest. His tomato plants diden't d
well. They got LIVER complaint an
turned yellow, and they got malari
and shivered all day dong: and one after
noon he brought friend stpp to Sc
what allied them. 1Ehe man pulled u
! one by the roots. put it to his nose 70
"a second, and then laughed:
''Bowser that's a patato-stalk OF I'r
: fooln'
Nor
''Well it is, and you might: as we
pull up and throw the ,others away!''
heard it all but never let on. In Jun
some of the things began to ssprou
and our garden was the talk Of tn
! lneighborhood. There were rWhea
roats, lettuce barley, glover, onions
/ Ibroom-corp water-mel@ns, ,pig-Weed
J and beets al coming up together, an
men hung .oyer the fence and laugh
Htill they ctied. Mr.. BoMser treate
the subject with such a lofty air that
! asked no questions, but one day WEe
Ishad been oaer to mother S Z returne
TO find the garden gone and the SOC
restored. N
L , 4